New Friends, New Habits

We've been keeping pretty busy as of late. Play dates, learning new skills, and mastering old ones.

Dylan's first playgroup was an immense success. He played mostly with a girl named Mia who is two hours his senior. She wouldn't let him go. She maintained a death grip on his sleeve for an impressive amount of time. When he could manage to get away from her he seemed positively content to observe  the older boys shenanigans. He gazed fearlessly at them while they climbed on chairs, under the table, and came dangerously close to trampling over him on at least two occasions. He was so tired when it was time to leave that he passed out in the car less than two minutes after his head hit the car seat.

In other news, his favorite things this week are the shower and the washer and dryer. When either of us is in the shower, Dylan will pull himself up on the tub and snatch the curtain back. He's happy to observe for the duration of our bathing. When the door to the laundry room is ajar he lets himself in and methodically removes every single item of clothing from the dryer one piece at a time.

Not two hours ago, my efforts to rock Dylan to sleep were thwarted when he discovered that he could make a hilarious sound by blowing his mouth on my shoulder. His first "raspberry," as it were, elicited howling laughter and the wakefulness of a baby emerging from a restful sleep.

Standing

Lounging

Poise

Evading diaper changes in exchange for doing chores

Being a menace

Hydrating

Pillow fights

Socializing

And of course deconstructing

Ch-Ch-Changes

Our daily lives have been slowly returning to pre-baby "normal." We even went out for breakfast last week. Dylan sat in one of those restaurant high chairs that was way too big for him but he seemed to enjoy it anyway. He mostly just babbled loudly and banged a spoon around a little. I put a tiny spoonful of ice water to his lips and he sipped eagerly and then made a strange face. His norm is breast milk and to say that breast milk is warm is an understatement.

Waking up after 8 AM is a luxury that I am happy to say I once again enjoy! For the past week or so Dylan has been consistently waking up after 8. Rolling out of bed when the sun is high(er) in the sky is such a pleasure after nearly 8 months of crack-of-dawn awakenings. I really think the extra hour makes all the difference for him and for me.

Of course some things are getting harder too. Changing him and getting him dressed has become a battle that he usually wins. I roll him onto his back and give him something, anything to distract him and keep him from rolling over and crawling away which sometimes works for maybe half a second but usually not even that long. He rolls right over and just try and stop him. We usually end up following him to wherever he stops to stand and putting his diaper on that way. The only other option is to forcibly hold him down on his back which we're just not willing to do. I think at least part of the reason he refuses to remain on his back is because he is prone to reflux and it's especially active when he's in that position. I suspect that only other parents with babies who suffer from reflux can understand why we're okay with chasing him around to put his diaper on.

Other than that things are moving along as they do. On one of our regular 7 AM trips to Whole Foods Market, Dylan and I encountered a young female worker who always flashes the most brilliant smile and enthusiastic wave in our direction. This time she practically squealed at Dylan and said to me "It's always such a pleasure to see you. He seems so intelligent, like he's always thinking about something." To which I responded "I hope so." But what I was really thinking is We need to get out more. The fact is I've never really been around too many babies so whether or not Dylan is exceptional in the true sense of the word is over my head. Of course he is exceptional to me and Thomas, but that's beside the point. On another occassion I heard the same girl exclaim to a fellow male worker "I love that baby! He is so adorable, don't you think?!" Actually, I do.

We finally bought Dylan a high chair. Until yesterday I was just feeding him in my lap. It's no big deal but it's really messy. We also figure that he's going to be starting solid foods soon and he'll need a place to explore his food. The counter top seems as good as any place and since we want to keep our possessions to a minimum we decided on a caddy high chair. He seems to like it.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving but to us it was just another day. Sure we ate some winter squash (Dylan had steamed broccoli-his first cooked food), but other than that it was just a regular day.

Dylan and daddy took their first outing together sin mamá. It was pretty nippy outside, in the forties I believe, so I dressed the baby in his only sweater and sent him on his way.

Thomas said that all went well and Dylan was content the whole time, no fussing in the car, no fussing in the store, no fussing at all. Of course this is a great thing but there are two sides to every story and the truth is he did better than I did because I was fussing until they got home. I scooped him up and squeezed him  tight but not too tight. I'm a total wimp. Show me my baby and I'll show you mushy.

To top it all off I've pretty much been living on these this week:

Egg and Daiya Burritos

2 tortillas (I like Rudi's Spelt or Whole Spelt)

2-3 farm fresh, free range eggs

2 handfuls of fresh spinach

2 handfuls cheddar or pepper jack Daiya

splash of unsweetened original almond milk

salt and pepper to taste

-Prepare scrambled eggs as you like them. I use almond milk, salt and pepper

-Spread the Daiya on tortillas and heat to melt the "cheese"

-Remove from heat and and dress with spinach and prepared eggs

ENJOY!

This month has been another big month for Dylan developmentally. He's not only standing well, but now he only really needs one hand for support and he has learned to turn himself around without falling. Most of the time. When he does fall it's a lot more graceful than it was just a week ago.

He's babbling more and more everyday. This month he moved from 'mamamamamamama' and 'babababa' to 'dadada' and most recently 'neh neh neh neh.' He's also learned to "motor boat" with his lips and basically does it all day spitting on anything in his path. Some of the noises he makes really surprise me. He must get these skills from Thomas because I certainly can't make the weird throaty piggish-froggish grunts he seems to have no trouble conjuring.

I finally committed to a few meet up groups and we attended our first meet up today. We went to a local farm to take a tour and see some cows. It was the perfect day for that sort of thing. 70 something, overcast, breezy. Breezy days are Dylan's favorite. when the wind blows he turns his head toward the gust and sticks his tongue out with a gleeful squeal. I really enjoy watching his hair blow in the wind. Before we left we sampled some yogurt cheeses, guanabana flavored drinkable yogurt. Thomas wanted to try some raw milk (which they sell for $8 per gallon), but they were out.  On our way out we picked up a dozen farm fresh eggs.  I asked about the diet of the farm's chickens and got the response "mostly bugs." Great!

Dylan seemed to be more interested in the other babies than he was in the animals. I think he's really going to enjoy the playgroups I've joined. I'm especially excited because he'll be around babies and kids of all ages. It's a good time to start getting him out of the house more I think.

After the farm we went for our third hike this week at a local nature preserve and Daddy volunteered to wear the baby!

I've also started to make him smoothies. Yesterday he had banana and pineapple and this morning he had avocado and banana. He really loves avocado anyway he can get it just like mama!

There was a lot of the banana-avocado mixture left once he was full so I turned it into a tropical green smoothie with raw honey and spirulina powder.

Tropical Green Smoothie
Fresh cut pineapple with juice
Half of 1 ripe avocado
1/2 banana
1 scoop green or superfood powder
1 TBSP raw, local, unfiltered honey
Water to desired consistency
**Blend and enjoy!

Dylan's big week

It seems like every week Dylan masters a plethora of new skills. This week was especially exceptional. He is 6 and one half months old and he began to stand with support, then stand holding onto furniture, and eventually began to pull up to standing on anything and everything he could reach in the house. He also sat in the grocery cart unsupported for his first and second time at the market. He took a few spills and sustained a few scratches, but it's only made him more daring! He also had his second solid food ripe, organic banana. See for yourself:

Look at the roll of fat hanging over his pants!

He even managed to turn himself around without falling over.

ALL of this happened within 7 days! The word is his father was walking well at 10 months and his paternal grandfather at 8 and one half months. I don't doubt that he'll be "cruising (walking holding onto furniture)" before he's 8 months old. Until then.

An occasion for pie

Unbelievably, Dylan turned 6 months old this week. Even more extraordinary is that it's been two years since Thomas and I married on the utterly breathtaking island of Santorini (Ancient Thera) in the Cyclades of Greece. In honor of the occasion, pictures and pie!

                                    One of our last moments as a twosome

Dylan's first food, ripe, organic pear.

Raw Blueberry Pie

Crust:

2 cups raw almonds

1/2 cup dates

pinch of salt

Filling:

5 cups fresh, organic blueberries

2 bananas

1 1/2 TBSP raw agave nectar or honey

Preparation:

1. Process almonds, dates, and salt in a high speed blender or food processor until mixture is completely pulverized and sticky

2. Spoon the mixture into a circular pie pan and press it firmly against all sides until you have a pie shaped crust, set aside

3. Blend 4 cups of the blueberries, the bananas, and the agave until smooth, stir in remaining 1 cup of blueberries

4. Pour into crust and refrigerate at least 2 hours

*I have been making this pie for almost 5 years now, and it never gets old! I prefer to eat it in the morning instead of for dessert because, on most days, I follow the food combining principles of The Rose Program. Enjoy!

Laundry Lesson

Last month, we decided to begin to eliminate plastics from our household. One of the first things to go was liquid laundry detergent in hard plastic bottles. We didn't toss out our old detergent, because we also try to maintain an economical household, and that would have been wasteful. We used it to the last drop, and even cut the bottle in half and wiped it clean!

Then, unsure of whether we would make our own detergent or use a store bought powder (in a cardboard box), a little research was in order. On our usual bi-weekly shopping trip, we  perused the laundry aisle and decided to pick up a box of 365 brand laundry powder. The ingredients were clean, no scents or fillers, and best of all, it was plastic free...or so we thought.

Back home, I enthusiastically opened the cardboard box only to find an over sized plastic bag filled with pristine white powder and a hard plastic scoop. Really?, I thought. At first I felt scammed by the cleverly designed, pretty pretty picture on the front of the box, but quickly recognized that I was to blame for being so naive. After all these years, I know better than to judge a book by its cover. I should have thought about the scoop, and searched online before hand for a company who either provides a cardboard scoop, or an aluminum pour spout.

I shook it off, and sent my husband (whom I will refer to, from today forth, as Thomas) back to the store for a refund. Take that Whole Foods Market! This step is of utmost importance to the eco-friendly consumer, you'll only be defeated if you allow it to happen, don't be afraid to return products that do not meet your standards.

Back at square one, and dangerously low on laundry detergent, we decided to attempt to make our own. We flipped through some green cleaning books we have at home and searched the web to find hundreds of recipes that all essentially include the same things: washing soda, some kind of soap or soap flakes, borax, and baking soda. It takes some work to grate the bar soap, but it's worth it in the end if you want a 100% natural, plastic free detergent.

The basic recipe (from Homemade by Reader's Digest):
1/2 cup soap flakes
1/2 cup baking soda
1/4 cup washing soda
1/4 cup borax
1 16 oz container with lid
*When washing diapers or stained garments, I like to add 2 TBSP Biokleen Oxygen Bleach Plus (which we've had on hand for years, when we run out, I will not purchase more because it comes in a plastic tub.)

1) Grate a bar of soap on a course kitchen grater (We use a Microplane hand grater).
2) In a large bowl mix all ingredients together. Store in container.
3) Use about 1/2 cup per load of laundry (We use about 1/8- 1/2 cup depending on the size of the load, and the soil level of the clothing or diapers).

For the average household, this detergent is probably fine. For the first few weeks, I loved it, especially the cost compared to store bought. However, if you are cloth diapering, as we are, this powder will interfere with the absorbabilty of your cloth inserts, and may lead to leaks. We had no problems until we started using this powder. The first night that Dylan's diaper leaked, I thought it was just too full, but when it started happening several times per day, Thomas mentioned that he had read something about detergents mucking up cloth pads.

I consider urine leaking onto our mattress (we're co-sleeping) every night urgent, so I had to act fast. Realizing that I probably had to begin using liquid detergent again, I headed to the store. I wasn't expecting to find anything but the usual hard plastic bottles of liquid detergent, as I had been down this aisle many times in the past. To my surprise, there was another option this time.

Seventh Generation has a new liquid laundry product, called Natural 4X Laundry Detergent, that comes in a cardboard (surely plastic lined) container.The spout is hard plastic, as is the lid, but it's a step in the right direction, to be sure. The bottle reads "This bottle uses 66% less plastic..." The cardboard is compostable and recyclable. Though the packaging is somewhat progressive, I have a problem with Seventh Generation as a company. Seemingly every product that they make, across the board, is loaded with SLS. For the record, if there is ever any controversy regarding the safety of a product, I will err on the side of caution. If you have no problem with SLS, this detergent is probably a good option.

I think for the time being I will go back to using Organic Green Shield soap nuts liquid detergent. I plan to use this liquid for Dylan's diapers only. I will continue to use the homemade powder for all our other laundry needs. I also plan to find a recipe for homemade liquid laundry detergent that will not interfere with the cloth diapers, and do not plan to purchase liquid detergent again once this one runs out.

If the thought of making your own laundry detergent seems daunting, hold off, everyone has to start somewhere, there's really no wrong way to "go green," making the commitment to do so is the first step. Most days it feels like we're taking two steps forward and one step back, and I have to admit that even I worry about what we might do next.

How did I get here?

     I haven't always been this way. Like the majority of us, I was bottlefed as an infant, raised on the Standard American (SAD) Diet, attended daycare and public school, and had never truly left the United States (aside from sporadic visits to border towns in Mexico) until I was 20 years old. I don't believe my childhood was tragic, or even bad, but I believe that it could have been more enriching. I don't blame my parents for any of the above, they had a child young, and they did the best that they  knew to do. Someone once told me "Once you know better, you do better," and that is exactly what I plan to do.

The Past

          I suppose this journey towards a more "natural" lifestyle began about 6 years ago;  I was 17 years old, and my boyfriend (who is now my husband) of one year and I decided that we wanted to be "healthier."
     For the life of me, I cannot remember what triggered the switch, but nevertheless, we decided that we wanted to start making our food from scratch, instead of continuing to consume the packaged, chemical preparations we were used to. For a month or more, we were buying whole, raw chickens to bake, organic cow's milk, frozen broccoli, and ground turkey for homemade, grilled turkey burgers. I distinctly remember feeling such pride that we had followed through, and I really believed that what we were doing was "healthy;" and in a conventional way, it was.
     I began to devour books about human nutrition and cooking; at the time, I couldn't get enough. My hunger ultimately led me to the internet where I found articles about factory farming, pesticides, food-borne illness, animal welfare, food additives, and the like. The research I was doing was overwhelming, to say the least. Everything that I knew to be true about food was turned on its head.
    One day, I came across a video called Meet Your Meat. I was reduced to tears and inspired to action; From that day forward I was a vegetarian. My boyfriend was reluctant to join me, and I never once pushed the matter. I never expected him, a self-proclaimed bacon lover, to make the significant lifestyle change that is vegetarianism. After a month or so, he told me that he wanted to try a one week trial vegetarianism; he did, and we never looked back.
     For the next three years, we were vegan. We didn't consume any animal products or by-products, and we even sold our leather belts and shoes, and our wool sweaters and coats.
    In 2008, we took our first European trip to England and France. Needless to say, there is no paucity of delectable chocolates and cakes, or rich cheeses in Europe, and upon our return home, we were vegetarian again.
     Since then, we have taken a few more trips across the pond (on a particularly special trip to Greece and Italy, my boyfriend became my husband), and another to Central America. In an attempt to further my knowledge and enhance our already "alternative" lifestyle, I have worked in many health food establishments and even majored in dietetics and human nutirition in college. Our seemingly simple journey to a healthier lifestyle has become a whole lot more complex, in a good way; think carbohydrates.

The Present
     Last year, we moved ourselves and our belongings halfway across the country, from FL to TX, in search of a more challenging, and more affordable education. When we arrived, poised to begin school, we were surprised to find out that I was expecting our first child.
     Thankfully, our perfect plan changed and now my husband is in school and I am managing, with our 5 month old son in tow, a sports nutrition establishment not five minutes from home.
     This year has been all about Dylan. On April 4th, I delievered him 100% drug free, with my husband and my amazing doula by my side. As far as hospital births are concerned, I had a best case scenario. I did my research, and carefully chose a modern, but experienced doctor who favors natural childbirth, respects a woman's right to give birth like the animal she is, and welcomes the company of a birth doula. I formed  a very specific birth plan, and it was followed to the 'T' thanks to all of the above supportive people. I was not confined to a monitor or a bed, and in fact, labored mostly at home. I was 8 1/2 cm when we arrived at the hospital and walked the halls and the delivery room until about 9 1/2 cm, when my water broke, on its own. After 40 minutes of effort on my behalf, Dylan was born. He was placed in my arms and breastfed immediately after he was born, even before being wiped clean of the protective vernix. He was not vaccinated and didn't even receive a vitamin K injection, his umbilical cord was allowed to stop pulsating before being clamped and cut, and he was and still is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

     I don't regret delivering in a hospital, but if ever I am pregnant again, I will plan a home, water birth.

The Future
     My husband will transfer from his current college to Texas A&M University in January 2012, and hopefully will make it out in just over two years a Wildlife Biologist. The current plan is to become ex-pats as soon as possible after his graduation. If only for a few months, and only for a post-grad research project, we will leave this country. As Dylan grows, we feel it is important that he, as an unschooled child, have a wholly enriching environment to explore, enjoy, and to learn. Besides, all we have is this world, right now, and we want him to enjoy every minute of this one life.